North Jersey religious leaders push for affordable housing for homeless

By Lipman, Harvy

Wire Service

Glenn Brock Jr. would like nothing more than his own place to live.

That's what the 20-year-old Boonton High School graduate came to tell a group of religious leaders gathered Thursday night at the Bergen County Administration Building for a hearing on the need for affordable housing.

The interfaith group is part of a statewide effort to get Governor Christie and the Legislature to focus on addressing the needs of the homeless, seniors and the disabled for decent housing.

Brock was one of several homeless individuals testifying at last week's session. He's been without a place to live since he graduated from high school a couple of years ago. The product of a broken home, he had been living with his grandparents in Lincoln Park until then.

"Then I went to be with my mom, but I was living in her car because she was living in a rooming house and there was no place for me," he said. Brock worked a series of seasonal jobs before landing maintenance work at a local mall. He was making $11 an hour — hardly adequate to cover rent in Bergen County.

"It was really hard. A couple of months after I went back to my mother, her car broke down," he recalled. "I was living on the street for six months."

He carried what he owned in a book bag and used gas station bathrooms to wash up for work. "I was sleeping in the mall during the day."

Late last year, he was laid off. Then a month ago someone told him about the shelter at the Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Services Center in Hackensack. It's not where Brock wants to be, but it's a considerable improvement over the streets.

And as center Executive Director Julia Orlando noted, it also offers individuals like him an opportunity through a new program run jointly with the county One Stop employment center.

"With Glenn we're working to improve his employability," Orlando said. "He's young. He can learn new skills. So he can live in the county center while we're doing that."

Orlando was at the hearing not only to tell the religious leaders about the programs the center offers, but to explain how economic conditions have driven growing numbers of young people into homelessness — "He's very reflective of a growing population we're seeing at the center," she said of Brock.

Rabbi Neal Borovitz, who heads the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, is one of the organizers of the interfaith effort on homelessness. That effort has brought together representatives of Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh congregations.

"All of our faiths require us to reach out to the homeless and the poor," said Borovitz, who's also the rabbi at Temple Avodat Shalom in River Edge.

"It's extremely important for the interfaith community to come together to address social issues," agreed Mohamed El Filali, outreach director at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson. "It's an opportunity for us to bring together our American values."

Last week's gathering in Hackensack was the second of three interfaith events across the state designed to target homelessness. Religious and non-profit leaders from around New Jersey have held a lobbying day in Trenton and another event is planned in South Jersey.

They've also approached Christie.

"We've requested meetings with the governor's office, but we have not been successful yet," said Jacob Toporek, executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations, who is handling the interfaith group's government relations efforts.

The coalition is asking the governor and the Legislature to commit to spending $375 million in federal funds to help homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes because they can no longer afford their mortgages. It also wants the administration to back faster spending of municipal affordable-housing trust funds.

The group sent a letter to the governor's office in November, and a follow-up the next month, but has not heard back.

"With this administration, it's hard to get a response until they're ready to give you a response," Toporek said.

The governor's press office didn't respond to a request for comment.

Christie is in the midst of legal battles with the Legislature, local governments and affordable-housing advocates. The administration's effort to take control of an estimated $166 million in municipal affordable-housing trust funds was blocked by an appellate court, but could well end up before the state Supreme Court.

The governor's attempts to eliminate the Council on Affordable Housing and alter the rules on funding and building affordable units also are before the courts.

"I can understand, given the lawsuits, why the governor's office might not want to sit down with us to discuss affordable housing," Toporek noted. "But they understand the faith-based community has a certain point of view, and we represent a certain number of constituents and, frankly, voters. I hope they listen to the message and give it strong consideration."

North Jersey religious leaders push for affordable housing for homeless

That's what the 20-year-old Boonton High School graduate came to tell a group of religious leaders gathered Thursday night at the Bergen County Administration Building for a hearing on the need for affordable housing.

The interfaith group is part of a statewide effort to get Governor Christie and the Legislature to focus on addressing the needs of the homeless, seniors and the disabled for decent housing.

Brock was one of several homeless individuals testifying at last week's session. He's been without a place to live since he graduated from high school a couple of years ago. The product of a broken home, he had been living with his grandparents in Lincoln Park until then.

"Then I went to be with my mom, but I was living in her car because she was living in a rooming house and there was no place for me," he said. Brock worked a series of seasonal jobs before landing maintenance work at a local mall. He was making $11 an hour — hardly adequate to cover rent in Bergen County.

"It was really hard. A couple of months after I went back to my mother, her car broke down," he recalled. "I was living on the street for six months."

He carried what he owned in a book bag and used gas station bathrooms to wash up for work. "I was sleeping in the mall during the day."

Late last year, he was laid off. Then a month ago someone told him about the shelter at the Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Services Center in Hackensack. It's not where Brock wants to be, but it's a considerable improvement over the streets.

And as center Executive Director Julia Orlando noted, it also offers individuals like him an opportunity through a new program run jointly with the county One Stop employment center.

"With Glenn we're working to improve his employability," Orlando said. "He's young. He can learn new skills. So he can live in the county center while we're doing that."

Orlando was at the hearing not only to tell the religious leaders about the programs the center offers, but to explain how economic conditions have driven growing numbers of young people into homelessness — "He's very reflective of a growing population we're seeing at the center," she said of Brock.

Rabbi Neal Borovitz, who heads the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, is one of the organizers of the interfaith effort on homelessness. That effort has brought together representatives of Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh congregations.

"All of our faiths require us to reach out to the homeless and the poor," said Borovitz, who's also the rabbi at Temple Avodat Shalom in River Edge.

"It's extremely important for the interfaith community to come together to address social issues," agreed Mohamed El Filali, outreach director at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson. "It's an opportunity for us to bring together our American values."

Last week's gathering in Hackensack was the second of three interfaith events across the state designed to target homelessness. Religious and non-profit leaders from around New Jersey have held a lobbying day in Trenton and another event is planned in South Jersey.

They've also approached Christie.

"We've requested meetings with the governor's office, but we have not been successful yet," said Jacob Toporek, executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations, who is handling the interfaith group's government relations efforts.

The coalition is asking the governor and the Legislature to commit to spending $375 million in federal funds to help homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes because they can no longer afford their mortgages. It also wants the administration to back faster spending of municipal affordable-housing trust funds.

The group sent a letter to the governor's office in November, and a follow-up the next month, but has not heard back.

"With this administration, it's hard to get a response until they're ready to give you a response," Toporek said.